That was the starting lineup in Memphis on opening night. I don't think CV or the Pistons org have any intention on keeping him a permanent bench rider. I think (or rather hope) he comes and gets (or rather takes by force) his starting spot back. I also like the front court of JJ / Daye / Monroe, long, tall, versatile with enough shooting to spread the floor.

Not sure if the Pistons will play him at the center of PF spot, but I'm pretty sure Monroe will be starting on opening night.

CV, as far as I'm concerned, can ride the pine, until he proves that he deserves more playing time and a bigger role. The work he's put in during the offseason sounds nice (if you believe the puff pieces that Langlois writes), but I'll continue to be skeptical until he shows it on the court.

I just hope the Pistons handle the development of Monroe much better than they have with most of their draft picks. I mean, who's to say that Jerebko would have ever gotten any serious run last year if Detroit doesn't suffer multiple injuries early in the season?

That was the starting lineup in Memphis on opening night. I don't think CV or the Pistons org have any intention on keeping him a permanent bench rider. I think (or rather hope) he comes and gets (or rather takes by force) his starting spot back. I also like the front court of JJ / Daye / Monroe, long, tall, versatile with enough shooting to spread the floor.

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I think both you and Roscoe pointed out how much better Max played at the 5 spot last year and how it allowed him to get his Bearcat on or something to that effect. He's my backup 5 presuming the players above are here.

I don't think Bynum comes back - I think with Stuckey, Hamilton, and Gordon ahead of him on the depth chart, and with their recent selection of White, I doubt Detroit will offer him what he's looking for - namely money and a key rotation spot. He showcased enough last year that he would be a solid starter for a number of teams.

I think Wallace comes back, though - he's too much of a competitor, he's too important to our team, and he just plays better here. Whether that's because of Arnie or whatever, this is like his home, and if Detroit offers him a decent contract I think he'll return.

Dumars insists that there's a market for Hamilton and Prince, but that they haven't gotten enough in return. I think Hamilton's gone by the trade deadline, because I hope that Dumars realizes he's slowing down the rebuilding of the team due to a) inhibiting Stuckey's growth as team leader, b) being unwilling to come off the bench as necessary, and c) having a logjam at his position that reduces playing time for guys that are the future of the Pistons (like Bynum could have been last year). If they think Terico White could develop into a rotation player, then he has to get 5-10 minutes a game to develop, but with Hamilton around that's impossible.

So I think Hamilton gets traded for another bad contract, but for a guy that doesn't have the handle on the locker room that Rip does, and/or is willing to sit the bench. At least that's what I'm hoping for. And after the free agent frenzy with Lebron, Wade, Bosh, etc., teams are going to come after Prince because his price is reasonable for what he's capable of contributing, he provides needed veteran leadership, and has an expiring contract.

In addition, rumors are circulating that the Pistons are trying to move Maxiell and Wilcox. I think someone will bite on Wilcox because of his stats, and Maxiell showed enough at the end of last season that some team will take him in a trade. Both could be for picks, or players, but I doubt they'll be here the whole year.

Long story short, the Pistons are not done with the offseason team building and they know it. Right now, the rotation below is based on Hamilton, Bynum, Maxiell, Wilcox, and Prince being gone, so that's why we only see nine guys, a couple of which may not make the team.

That's all I have. If Hamilton doesn't come back, they'll ironically need more backcourt depth (how did that happen so quickly?) or a defensive-minded starter ala Dumars. I think they're just about set up-front, actually, if Monroe becomes a long-term solution they're hoping he becomes. The lineup isn't bad and if they can get rid of those guys I mentioned above, and there is a strong young core here with Stuckey, Gordon, Daye, Jerebko, and Monroe.

Here is the problem with Ben. He's only a 30MPG player right now. So he needs someone to play center for the other 18 minutes a night.

Also, I think fans forget how much he disappeared in the second half of the season. I'm not sure he has much left in the tank.

I don't think it is a given that Ben gets penciled in as the starter. I think Monroe might start and Ben might back him up and/or coach him. The Pistons can then play CV and JJ at the 4, and that reduces the logjam at the 3, which helps take pressure off finding backup 3s minutes at 2 which is also overloaded. Bear in mind, I don't think the Pistons will bend over backwards to find minutes for Summers. He's an afterthought unless Tay is traded.

I think Tay may get traded because he's the most tradeable asset, but if you go back to the second half of last year, he played some of his best ball, and might not be expensive to re-sign. I've never been a Tay fan, but it would really bum me out if we got rid of him just as he hit his prime.

i have to think our depth chart is going to be significantly different either at the start of the season or at the trade deadline. more teams have cleared cap space than there are players to dish out the money, which means those leftover teams are going to have to appease their fan base and pick up players. which means we might ship off rip or tay for a 1st-rounder and nothing else. it's too bad rip got that extension or he'd be long gone right now.

Undevaluing Tay would be a mistake. He will be, perhaps, THE prime catch for just about any team at the trade deadline. A very fine player, a great glue guy for any team, a champion and a guy still in his late prime with a lovely expiring contract. We're going to get something really nice back for him.

The Pistons can use him for awhile because he's so solid, and can show the young guys how to play -- to a point. The to a point piece is that I'm not sure Tay fits our style anymore. Then again, I'm not sure it doesn't, because I'm not sure with the addition of Monroe, what our style is anyways.

I love the selection of Monroe, but the truth is that his addition creates a lot of questions about who fits on our roster and what their roles will be. That suggests to me that our coaches have a lot to do right now as they sort all this through, and develop a plan. And even though they may figure something out in the short term, it's highly likely that mid year the roster might change a lot. It sure would be nice if Joe could make all his key trades and moves: Tay, Rip, Maxiell and Willcox before training camp starts. More likely, the reshaping of our roster will continue in important drips and drabs over the next two seasons.

It's important to remember that today's sucky contract is next years fantastic contract. Rip will have a ton of value next season since he'll be on an (effectively) expiring contract.

Joe should be patient in trading him, waiting till next season if necessary. Besides, with Monroe added to either Tay or Daye, playing Rip and Gordon together is a lot more viable. That tempers MAYBE the need to trade Rip right now since he might actually fit better on this roster than he did last season. Same for Tay, actually.

I do respect the arguments some of you guys are raising that Tay and Rip don't fit. But I don't think that's cut and dried anymore.

I get the feeling that Joe doesn't want to get rid of Rip or Tay, and I kind of agree. Rip was our leading scorer, Tay was our best defender and most stable player, getting rid of both might leave the team in disarray in ways we aren't ready for. The benefits of having both of them won't be seen until the playoffs start, where they know the tone that needs to be set and the intensity that we need to show. I really can't think of a team that would trade for Rip Hamilton and give us anything that we want. I don't see us giving up Tayshaun and getting anything but a crushingly bloated contract. Given that we lock down Tayshaun for a relatively cheap contract extension this year, it might not be worth it.

For us to be successful we have to use all of our depth, as that will be what helps us win. We need to cut the minutes during the regular season for Rip and Tayshaun, and have more of the second unit guys playing.

In the front line, I think the lesson we learned last year, is that CV does not want to start and maybe that is a good thing. Whoever we sign as a free agent can be the starter, and thats ok with me. CV will just be like a more expensive Big Baby Davis.

We definitely have a log jam up front. Wilcox will get traded, if he doesn't, he still won't play much. JMax should get traded as well. These two could be give away like parting gifts, because the playing time other players earn are more valuable than their contributions, even though I think JMax represents detroit baskeball better than a lot of people on the team and I would much rather see CV31 go.

The interesting battle this year will be seeing who is better for the 3 Jerebko or Daye. Hopefully the two work so hard to earn the minutes at the three that one of them makes Tayshaun irrelevant.

It will also be interesting, if Bynum doesn't resign, to see Joe's combo guard master plan come together. Unless they get a back up at point expect to see all sorts of people putting in stretches at point, or basically us not having a designated play maker on the court for stretches at a time.

Here is the problem with Ben. He's only a 30MPG player right now. So he needs someone to play center for the other 18 minutes a night.

Also, I think fans forget how much he disappeared in the second half of the season. I'm not sure he has much left in the tank.

I don't think it is a given that Ben gets penciled in as the starter. I think Monroe might start and Ben might back him up and/or coach him. The Pistons can then play CV and JJ at the 4, and that reduces the logjam at the 3, which helps take pressure off finding backup 3s minutes at 2 which is also overloaded. Bear in mind, I don't think the Pistons will bend over backwards to find minutes for Summers. He's an afterthought unless Tay is traded.

I think Tay may get traded because he's the most tradeable asset, but if you go back to the second half of last year, he played some of his best ball, and might not be expensive to re-sign. I've never been a Tay fan, but it would really bum me out if we got rid of him just as he hit his prime.

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Prince is going to be turning 30 soon, correct? I think it's doubtful that he is going to get any better at this point in his career. Prince did play some of his best ball after the AS break last year, as you pointed out, so I think it's fair to say his trade value increased substantially on that alone. Many people (myself included) were writing him off as done prior to that.

I do think the Pistons can be selective on what they'll take for Prince. He can get us something decent in a trade, and if not, we'll have that cap space at the end of the year from his expiring contract.

It's important to remember that today's sucky contract is next years fantastic contract. Rip will have a ton of value next season since he'll be on an (effectively) expiring contract.

Joe should be patient in trading him, waiting till next season if necessary. Besides, with Monroe added to either Tay or Daye, playing Rip and Gordon together is a lot more viable. That tempers MAYBE the need to trade Rip right now since he might actually fit better on this roster than he did last season. Same for Tay, actually.

I do respect the arguments some of you guys are raising that Tay and Rip don't fit. But I don't think that's cut and dried anymore.

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Well, that's yet to be seen. Monroe changes the dynamic quite a bit, but we all know that last year Gordon struggled to find any consistency in both playing time and playing performance when Hamilton was in the starting lineup. Stuckey seemed to play better without Hamilton's overbearing presence as well.

Hamilton's last year of his contract is only partially guaranteed. How exactly does that work? I've never fully understood that...

Well, that's yet to be seen. Monroe changes the dynamic quite a bit, but we all know that last year Gordon struggled to find any consistency in both playing time and playing performance when Hamilton was in the starting lineup. Stuckey seemed to play better without Hamilton's overbearing presence as well.

Hamilton's last year of his contract is only partially guaranteed. How exactly does that work? I've never fully understood that...

We all know that Ben Go and RIP can't play together and this team doesn't have the luxury to keep them both.So Dumars needs to trade of them and RIP contract is more tradable.Prince also needs to be traded,if we want to get a real PG or a true big man who can play down low.Simply speaking Prince will be traded the only thing we don't know is when,or at the offseason or at the deadline.With RIP/Gordon it will be harder,because both of their contracts sucks a lot so we will be forced to send Stuckey to,if we want to get more then a bad contract.

I know that a lot of you love Stuckey and want him back the next season,but think people.This is his last contract year and after this year he will get a new contract and the Pistons doesn't need another SG for 10mln.Let's face it that Stuckey isn't a PG he's like Wade,Roy,Ellis,Curry,Evans who are SG who can play a little point,but they aren't your PG,if you hope more then making the playoffs.I would love to keep Stuckey,but only way if trade RIP and Gordon and get a real PG.

Prince is going to be turning 30 soon, correct? I think it's doubtful that he is going to get any better at this point in his career. Prince did play some of his best ball after the AS break last year, as you pointed out, so I think it's fair to say his trade value increased substantially on that alone. Many people (myself included) were writing him off as done prior to that.

I do think the Pistons can be selective on what they'll take for Prince. He can get us something decent in a trade, and if not, we'll have that cap space at the end of the year from his expiring contract.

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I think Prince has 2-3 more good years left in him. Watch as Joe gives him a 2-year extension this summer.